Nashoba School Committee candidates consider budget, education needs

Tuesday

Apr 25, 2017 at 4:48 PMApr 25, 2017 at 4:48 PM

Holly Camero hcamero@wickedlocal.com @BeaconVillager

Nashoba School Committee hopefuls Stephen Rubinstein and Erica Benedick discussed the budget and the committee’s role in the schools at the April 24 candidates forum sponsored by the Stow League of Women’s Voters.

Both are running for the one open seat being vacated by Nicole Odekirk, whose term expires in May.

The three biggest problems facing the district, comprised of the towns of Bolton, Lancaster and Stow, Rubinstein said, are space restrictions at Nashoba Regional High School, including the need for updated science labs and classroom space, increasing funding for each program and the viability of a fully funded kindergarten program.

Benedick, too, noted the lack of space at the high school, but cautioned the board also needed to be mindful of the impact of the budget on residents, particularly those with fixed incomes. If elected, she said, she would be committed to ensuring the budget process was as transparent as possible.

“School decisions impact everyone in the community,” she said.

Selectman Don Hawkes, who is also the board’s liaison to the Nashoba School Committee, asked if the two candidates had considered whether the district should build a new high school or modify the existing building. He said he had served on the school’s Space Needs Committee and received a demographic report that suggested the district’s population would decrease in the coming years. He pointed out that seven years ago the town of Concord had built a new high school to the tune of $100 million, something he felt would be devastating to towns in the Nashoba district.

Rubinstein said several factors contributed to the overcrowding at the high school, including the school choice program which was disbanded a few years ago. Seventy to 80 school choice students remained but when they graduated, the Nashoba population would decrease, he said. Options to constructing a new school could include expansion of erecting temporary classrooms.

“We need to make it work the best we can without saddling the towns with $100 million,” he said.

Benedick said she was not so sure the school population would decrease, because more and more people were moving from the cities to the western suburbs, and she did not think temporary classrooms were the answer.

“Temporary classrooms feels like a Band-Aid,” she said.

She was in favor of having more discussion to arrive at a solution.

Educating Stow students

Marcia Rising, a 56-year Stow resident, asked if the candidates thought teachers should encourage students who would benefit from a vocational-technical education to attend Minuteman.

Benedick said while teachers were free to voice their opinion, it was ultimately up to the families to decide which school best fit their child’s needs.

Rubinstein, noting his answer may not be politically correct, said not every child should go to Harvard or MIT.

“We have to make Minuteman and other options not only available but attractive to young people so they can follow their hearts and do well in whatever it is they decide to do as a life career,” he said.

When asked if a traditional American education served today’s students and prepared them for the future, Benedick acknowledged there were concerns around core curriculum and standardized testing and the level of stress caused by testing, but she didn’t have an alternative.

“I’m not 100 percent sure how you make sure everyone is getting the same baseline education,” she said. “I will have to get back to you.”

Rubinstein said the answer lies in the role of the schools.

“I think the primary function of schools is to teach children a) how to think and to think critically and b) how to interact in the social world around them,” he said.

Odekirk asked how they would influence the school budget.

Rubinstein admitted he had not looked that carefully at the school budget, but said he wanted to build the school budget from a zero-based operating budget.

“That way you can get a handle at the very base of the expenses you are spending,” he said.

Benedick said the existing budget included line items “right down to pencils,” but she worried that while the School Committee asked for a 3.4 percent budget increase, tuition for pre-kindergarten increased by 30 percent, which she said was unfair.

As the mother of a young child herself, Benedick said if elected, she would be the voice of other parents with young children, something that was missing from the current committee.

“It’s important that everyone’s voice be heard,” she said.

Rubinstein said he had recently toured the Hale and Center schools in Stow, where he saw dedicated teachers and staff members.

“As a member of the School Committee, I pledge to work to maintain that level of excellence,” he said.